Communication programs for personal computers are well-known in the art. Heretofore, communication programs permit the personal computer, acting as a local computer, to communicate with a remote computer. However, when the personal computer is operating with the communication program, to the remote computer, the personal computer is like a "dumb terminal" in that it is incapable of responding to command queries from the remote computer. Further, conventional communication programs for the personal computer has permitted communication only through the transmission and reception of alphanumeric data. Conventional communication programs are unable to transmit or receive graphical data.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,268 discloses a data display system, wherein a bit value preceding data determines whether the data that follows is alphanumeric or graphical. Based upon this preceding bit value, the display unit then displays the data as either alphanumeric or graphical.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,632 shows a mixed alphanumeric-graphic display that uses a control command to determine whether alphanumerical or graphical data is to be displayed. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,599.